Classic Rock’s Thirteen Unluckiest Musicians

When it comes to ranking the unluckiest people in the world, rock stars on the whole fall somewhere between lottery winners and heirs to vast oil fortunes. Not many people have sympathy for famous musicians, who rake in buckets of money, tour the globe, bask in the adoration of fans and tend to have successful romantic lives -- all while never having to punch a clock at a nine-to-five job.

But rock stars don't always have it easy, and sometimes things can go very, very wrong. There seem to be significant dangers associated with the career, whether it's from the constant traveling or just living the rebellious and deceptively high-pressure rock 'n' roll lifestyle, and that's why we've created this list of 13 Bad Luck Rockers.

With that in mind, join us on this Friday the 13th as we take a look at 13 artists and bands who have had their rock dreams sullied by extreme cases of bad luck. In some cases, groups like Lynyrd Skynyrd, Badfinger and the Allman Brothers Band seemed to have a dark cloud perpetually hanging over their heads. In others, we look at how former members of the Beatles, AC/DC and Pink Floyd were axed as those bands were on the verge of global super-stardom.

And then there were the members of the Rolling Stones and Metallica who died way too soon, although one co-founder of Kiss repeatedly narrowly escaped an early demise.